Three perish on A1, A15 road mishaps

Two male drivers and a 14-year-old girl died in separate road accidents over the weekend along the A1 Highway and the A15 Road respectively.

No.2 District Officer Commanding, Senior Superintendent Paul Oketsang confirmed the two fatalities when The Monitor made a routine interview for updates. Oketsang said the first accident was recorded on Friday at around 4.47am along the A1, involving a Sprinter minibus and a Scania horse and trailer truck. “The 38-year-old man of Serowe, who was the driver of the Sprinter bus, was driving alone when the accident occurred. We do not know what really caused the accident, but I can confirm that the Sprinter driver hit the truck from behind. He was rushed to Palapye Primary Hospital where he was certified dead on arrival by the doctors,” Oketsang said. He added that the truck driver who escaped the accident uninjured, was also driving alone when the accident occurred. In another fatal accident that claimed two lives on Saturday early morning, Oketsang said a father and his 14-year-old daughter died after their vehicle overturned along the A15 (Serule and Selebi-Phikwe road) a few kilometres away from Damochojina turnoff. He stated that the 38-year-old father, who was driving a Toyota Wish, had three passengers all his female children aged 14, 12, and an eight-year-old when the accident occurred. “It looks like he lost control of the car and it overturned. The deceased driver, who had sustained serious head injuries, was confirmed dead on arrival at Selebi-Phikwe Hospital. His 14-yearold daughter had also sustained serious head injuries and multiple body injuries and was referred to Nyangwabgwe Referral Hospital but unfortunately didn’t pull through too,” he said. Oketsang further stated that the young girls, a 12-year-old and an eight-year-old, who had sustained minor injuries are recuperating at the Selebi-Phikwe Hospital where they are currently hospitalised. He further revealed concern over road accidents that continue to claim lives as he pleaded with motorists to be cautious at all times and obey road signs. He added that some accidents occur due to the drivers’ attitudes towards key road safety issues such as overspeeding, drinking and driving and risk overtaking among others. “In two accidents that were recorded over the weekend in the Central District we found beer bottles inside the two vehicles. This shows that there are some drivers who still drink and drive despite our efforts to sensitise them about drinking and driving,” Oketsang said.